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发帖数: 844 | 1 CAPTIONBy Kyle Telechan, TheTimes, via AP
An Indiana sheriff's office is investigating alleged misconduct by the
pastor of an evangelical megachurch who was fired after admitting to an "
improper relationship" with a teenage girl, the Hammond Post-Tribune reports.
Jack Schaap, 54, was pastor at 15,000-congregation First Baptist Church of
Hammond, Ind., for 11 years and broadcast his sermons worldwide.
The church said in a news release that Schaap committed "a sin that has
caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor," the Associated Press
reports.
The Lake County Sheriff's Department says it is investigating the alleged
misconduct but does not expect to file charges, the Post-Tribune reports.
A church spokesman says the teenager is 17 years old and was at least 16
years old -- the age of consent in Indiana -- at the time of the incident.
The board of deacons announced Schaap's dismissal Tuesday for sinful
behavior that involved adultery and physically inappropriate behavior, The
Hammond Times reports.
Terry Duff, chairman of the Board of Deacons, said the church is committed
to finding out the full story on the allegations and that "no wronging will
be covered up.""We are going to do what is right no matter what the cost or
consequences to First Baptist Church," Duff said Wednesday evening.
Terry Duff, chairman of the board, said the church is committed to finding
out the full story on the relationship and that "no wronging will be covered
up," WBBM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Chicago, reports.
"We are going to do what is right no matter what the cost or consequences to
First Baptist Church," Duff told reporters Wednesday evening.
Duff said that Schaap acknowledged the affair when confronted by church
leaders and is attempting to reconcile with his wife, who is the daughter of
the church's founder.
Correction on 8/3/12: Hyles was not the founder of the church, which dates
to 1887, however, he was instrumental in during it into a megachurch during
his leadership, from 1959 to 2001.
WBBM reports that interim pastor Eddie Lapina told the congregation
Wednesday evening, "We need to watch each other, we need to make sure that
nobody … gets the feeling that they're above reproach."
Schaap is also author of several books on marriage and dating, but they are
apparently were removed from the website of his publisher, Hyles
Publications.
In his 1995 book, titled Marriage: God's Original Intent, Schaap writes:
When it comes to marriage, I want to live by the rules. As a marriage
counselors, I'm weary of couples wo come asking me to make exceptions to the
rules because they just don't see it the same way God does. .. Nobody has a
right to decide if they are an exception to the rule. Decide to be a person
who lives by the rules.
A webpage for the purchase of CDs and DVDs of Schaap's sermons is still
accessible, however, as is a page on a book Schaap co-authored on teaching
in Sunday school. |
